Kingdom Of Shadows
by Moonlit dark
Summary: Kaoru is the youngest child in the royal family and therefore has the grim duty of ruling the more dangerous part of their kingdom. War is nearing and she is starting to have doubts. Will the recruiting of their enemy's best assassin change things? KK


**Kingdom Of Shadows**

Prologue

The sudden stop made closed eyes snap open to reveal deep burning amber. The young man, hunched up in the dark corner of the carriage, silenced his breathing to far from audible and listened intently. His hand automatically fell to the hilt of the sword by his side, his body tensing by instinct; ready to attack. Why had they stopped? The ki's surrounding him were the same as they had been before, so… why? No, he decided. There might not be any new ki's… But the old ones had faded; some entirely gone.

His eyes narrowed dangerously when light footsteps sounded. They were heading towards him. He had thoroughly ordered his supposed 'escorts' to stay away from the carriage until they had arrived. He hadn't wanted any interruptions or… accidents. Judging by the fading light inside the cabin they had only travelled in approximately five hours. The ride to his destination took at least twice that time, and they had agreed that they were to make no stops.

Thinking things through only took him a few seconds, and he closed his eyes again, steadying his breathing to make it look like he was sleeping. The steps came nearer, and by the time the person opened the door and stepped in, the intruder was already pushed against the wall of the carriage, the sharp side of a sword pressed against his neck.

"So… Couldn't do without me anymore?" A cold voice whispered, the words cutting through the new icy silence. The young man shuddered and fearfully looked up into the raging gold flames before him. The blood colored locks framed the face of the most feared man in the country.

"…Battousai…" He said breathlessly, his earlier courage seemingly fading under the strong gaze of the man in front of him. He had been a fool, really. Killing the guards had been a piece of cake with the help of the rest of his group, but to go against this living myth, the demon in the shape of a human, had been the biggest mistake of his life.

Battousais eyes hardened even further at the lost look on his opponents face. Really, if the government wanted him back so badly, why send weaklings to capture him? They should know best of all, why he indeed was called demon behind his back, but always with shushed voices.

Releasing a soundless sigh he almost cocked his brow at the frozen man in front of him. Coward. He almost didn't want to bother killing this man – more like boy actually - who couldn't even raise his sword against him.

A gruff voice broke the silence and broke him out of his temporary reverie. "Shuichi, are ya done yet? We need to move on and catch the Battousai."

Battousai cocked a brow, and then widened his eyes a bit in understanding. Ah, so they thought this was just a travelling convoy, and that he was on a horse somewhere longer down the road. Of course, that would have been the smartest arrangement; really who was stupid enough to lock himself in a carriage when the possibility of being attacked was higher than having an undisturbed trip over the boundary? Well, it's not like he had had any choice since it had already been decided for him. And it _was_ a good plan in a way, as he grudgingly admitted, only to himself. No one would suspect _him _to be in the cabin, since it was about the same as blinding a deaf man and throwing him out to the lions. It would have been suicidal… for anyone but him.

"Shuichi?" The voice tried again, but to no avail. Shuichi, as the man had called him, wouldn't have been able to answer even if he wanted to.

Battousai didn't even blink as the boy fell to the floor; red blood pouring out of the slash on his neck, but only wiped his katana in the dying boy's gi and jumped out of the carriage door. His sword expertly cut the waiting man's sword hand off, before doing a sudden twist and letting the shiny steel fly through the air and displace the man's head from his shoulders. Turning, he swiped out at the oncoming man's chest, before avoiding a second attack from behind, by disappearing in thin air. He reappeared behind the confused man and quickly pushed his sword through his chest, and then twisted it before drawing it out through his side in one even movement. By the time his opponent fell to the ground, the second one who'd only received a slash on his chest started to move again.

Battousai held back a sardonic smile and looked at the man before him with something slight akin to interest. So he was still able to move. A bit impressing. Even though the chest wound he given him wasn't exactly deadly it was still deep. And the crimson liquid pouring from it didn't help either. He sighed and cleaned his katana in some nearby corpse's clothes. He hadn't even been forced to draw his Wakizashi… he sheathed the sword; hand still resting at the hilt, and looked at the staggering man with a stoic face. He could barely stand as it looked, and fighting was definitely out of the question. "You," he stated calmly, "are going to go back to the capital and tell the government, that I do not wish to come back, so they might as well spare their troops and stay away from me. From now on I am free of their services and them of mine." With an icy tinge to his amber eyes, he gave the man one last firm look before turning, and continuing his walk down the road, bodies of both friends and foes lying on the cold ground. The moon had appeared on the dark sky and now lit up his slight figure and the blood which were splashed on his clothes during the short battle. No wounds covered his body. His stature was straight, his eyes on the surroundings as well as on the goal ahead. Now, nearing the border and with the possible new attackers far behind, he was closer to being free than ever.

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**Here's another idea to a RK-fanfiction. Please review and tell me what you think :) I'll update as soon as possible. Hope you enjoyed :D**


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